Ara Vartanian

Ara Vartanian comes from a family with a long history in the jewelry business. Born in Beirut, Lebanon, he grew up surrounded by the precious stones his father sold in São Paulo, but it wasn’t until the early 2000s that he truly embraced the business. Ara earned a degree in economics from Boston University and moved to New York in 1998 to work in the financial markets, but he left his life as a trader on Nasdaq behind when he decided to return to Brazil to honor the Vartanian family tradition.

He began working in the family business in 2000 and soon decided to strike out on his own. In 2002, he opened his own eponymous jewelry store. Determined to stand out in the market, Ara developed innovative techniques that resulted in iconic pieces such as the two- and three-finger rings, the Polvo rings, the Anzol earrings, and his signature inverted diamonds. The stones themselves are framed by surrounding structures and serve as Ara’s greatest source of inspiration and the starting point for all his pieces.

Things moved quickly. Ara Vartanian’s pieces began selling internationally as early as 2002 in New York, before the São Paulo showroom opened in 2005. Next came the stores in São Paulo (2010), and in 2016, the first location outside Brazil, in London. Ara chose the former residence of Baron Maurice Saatchi—founder of the Saatchi & Saatchi advertising agencies—in Mayfair as his headquarters and has attracted high-profile clients such as Lupita Nyong’o, Madonna, Penélope Cruz, Jennifer Lawrence, Blake Lively, Liv Tyler, Emma Stone, and Kate Moss.

His friendship with Kate Moss led to an exclusive, limited-edition line crafted in 18k gold and featuring gemstones such as amethysts, citrines, diamonds, and rubies, among others. In fact, collaborations are a staple of Ara Vartanian’s repertoire. Artists such as the Brazilian Ernesto Neto and the German Janaína Tschape, furniture designer Hugo França, and lighting designer Scatto are some of his most recent partners. But his most loyal and enduring partner is model Sabrina Gasperin, the designer’s wife and muse, who also collaborates with him on pieces for the Sabrina by Ara Vartanian line. The Máscaras collection (2014) and the Bone earring are bestsellers and a hit among celebrities.